Weight Loss Addiction Consequences

Dieting Obsession and Weight Loss Addiction

Mass media manufactures the misconception that being model-thin is the only way to be sexy or desirable. Many young people make the mistaken assumption that their desirability turns solely on how they look, which can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia.

Usually, people with more maturity or depth can readily tell you that what makes a person sexy or appealing comes mostly from within. It is not how you look that matters as much as how confident you are.

Unrealistic Standards

Still, due to Hollywood standards and media hype, people are pushed to subscribe to a self-image that doesn’t fit them. Yet they don’t make their money off their looks, unlike Hollywood celebrities.

Even models and Hollywood celebrities are being held to increasing standards of perfection that just aren’t realistic. They don’t necessarily look like what you see in magazines, on posters or even in film. See the short video below.

Failing to Lose Weight Permanently Makes You a Repeat Consumer

Due to media and mass culture programming, many people become obsessed with dieting and weight loss. This has led to a pattern of weight loss addiction that is, frankly, disconcerting and a cause for concern. It can be traced to the multi-billion dollar diet and weight loss products industry, much of which is focused more on weight loss product consumption, rather than on permanent weight loss.

Multi-Billion Dollar Cycle

Given the fact that Americans are vainly trying to match a Hollywood fitness and physique ideal, it is not a surprise that the American weight loss and diet industry is a multi-billion dollar behemoth. It is not hard to figure out why this is the case: people try one diet, they fail, they try another fad, and then another. Each time, several hundred dollars are spent. All the while, the multi-billion dollar diet and weight loss industry eggs people on, focused on beauty rather than health.

Psychological Dependence

People have begun to evaluate themselves based on how close they get to an ideal. As mentioned above, this may be an impossible ideal. Still, people burn lots of money and, more importantly, beat themselves up as to why can’t meet this ideal.

This emotional roller-coaster ride of hopeful weight loss dreams, crushing disappointment, insecurity, and new weight loss hope is self-destructive. It produces a psychological dependence on the ‘next big thing’ in diet solutions, similar to patterns in an abusive relationship. You don’t like the relationship, but ‘making up’ makes you feel so good that you stick around.

In the case of dieting dependency, the ‘hope’ of losing weight gets people hooked. Their depression after failing in their new fad diet only serves to stoke the emotional high of the ‘hope’ they get from yet another diet gimmick or product that promises to help you “get slim fast”.

The solution is simple, but of course it’s not easy. There’s no gimmick, pill, package or product that’s going to get you to a healthy weight and stay there. No amount of wishful thinking will change that. You have to adopt the right lifestyle habits to break weight loss addiction and become a person who is permanently living at a healthy weight – which isn’t a size zero for most people.

Crushed Self-Esteem

The addiction people develop to the ‘next big thing’ in diet and weight loss products serves to erode self-esteem. How can it not? After all, when you build your self-esteem on something that is out of your control, and something you have to wait for or strive for, it leads to an emotional downward spiral.

The end result? A more entrenched belief that your sense of self-love and self-validation can only come from other people. They hold the keys to your emotional freedom. This is no way to live. This doesn’t lead to a feeling of being in control or personal self-mastery. Sadly, this is the reality of dieting obsession. By focusing on an illusory ‘solution,’ people fall deeper and deeper into the self-esteem crushing dependency on a product to give them the self-esteem and validation they so desperately crave.

The Importance of Medical Weight Loss

Medical weight loss, as we practice it here in our clinic in Honolulu, Hawaii, is not a fad. It takes into account the specific health conditions of each patient, teaches them to eat the right “real food”, and supports them into making changes in lifestyle that become livable habits which lead to good health. We don’t supply products that you’ll become dependent on to maintain your weight loss. When you learn more about how medical weight loss works, we hope you’ll book a complimentary consultation and come in to discuss getting to a healthy weight and staying there, free of weight loss addiction for the rest of your life.

About DrBruce

Dr Bruce Katsura believes that weight loss can be fast, safe and sustainable, if it is supported and supervised by a physician, and involves certain lifestyle changes. Those include learning about healthy eating and making small changes in daily habits. Our clients lose up to 30 pounds in 30 days, and most keep the weight off. Sign up for your free initial consultation today.

One Response to Weight Loss Addiction Consequences

I agree with your point that young people are especially prone to believing that their desirability and appeal is based only on their looks. The problem is compounded by the multitude of unrealistic images that they are bombarded with on a daily basis by the media. They quickly discover that they can’t live up to these images of ‘perfection’, and this can really affect their self esteem.

I have a 14 year old daughter who has been battling with anorexia for the past couple of years. It’s a constant struggle.

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